Minnesota Plant Violates Permit Requirement

Details

Published: Thursday, 08 November 2012 15:06

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is investigating a company that it said did not have the necessary permits when it started construction on a silica sand processing plant in Harris. The building is now almost completed, according to KARA TV in Minneapolis-St. Paul.

The plant, which is owned by Tiller Corp., got the approval from the city of North Branch last year to build the plant, but did not have the proper environmental paper work to move forward. The company says it was an honest mistake.

Tiller Corp. spokesperson Mike Caron says the company stopped construction in May after finding out it did not apply for the right permit back in February.

“We made a mistake. It sure would have been nice for them to work with us to figure out how to get that corrected back in February,” said Caron.

Ralph Pribble, a spokesman with the MPCA said he was prohibited from commenting about the open investigation, but says other companies have made honest mistakes during the permit process in the past.

Pribble says depending on the outcome of the investigation, Tiller Corp., however, could face fines for its mistake.